Dear friend,I'm writing to you in the name of the People that dwells in Zion, although I have not been appointed to do so. Nonetheless, since I don’t wish to present you with opinions but with simple facts, I don't need to be appointed. Thus I'm not writing to change your mind, but only to provide you with some facts, because I'm afraid you're being fed lies about us. All the truths I'm going to tell you can be corroborated in the books on Middle East and World history.

First falsehood: This Land has always been the homeland of the Palestinian People, and was taken from them by us.This isn't true! We have lived here from time immemorial, and we were expelled by the Romans. Almost all of the Arabs arrived here just before the War of Independence, when the British intentionally opened up all the dry-land borders to them. We are the only people on Earth for whom this has been a homeland.

Second falsehood: This country was conceived in sin following an aggressive, illegal conquest by the Jews.I beg to differ. Israel was the result of a British legal obligation and an international agreement following the First World War, which was reconfirmed after the Second World War.

Third falsehood: The Israelis want to destroy the Arab countries in particular, and the whole Muslim world in general.Not so! The Arabs started each of the wars against us, and not vice versa: the War of Independence, the Sinai Campaign, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Lebanon War, the Gaza War, etc. etc. And our army -- as its name makes clear, is the I.D.F., the Israel DEFENSE Forces. All of our wars were and are wars of defense.

Fourth falsehood: The Israeli Army mistreats Palestinians.Also untrue! Our army is exceedingly moral, the most moral on Earth, going beyond the conventional norm. Many of our soldiers have died so innocent civilians would be spared.

Fifth falsehood: The State of Israel oppresses the Arabs in its midst.Wrong. They have a status unparalleled in any Arab country: the right to vote for the government. They have their own Knesset members and ministers, they can study in University, and become high-ranking judges and officials. Unfortunately, many of them engage in terror, out of a sense of enormous ingratitude, and their brethren do not protest this forcefully.

Sixth falsehood: When there are two states for two peoples, operating in good neighborliness and cooperation, there will be peace in the Middle East.That is not so. This idea was already raised 80 years ago in 5680, and it's because of that that we are at war. Already in 5686 we agreed to the establishment of two states and the Arabs refused. It turns out that we made a mistake. The British had already established two states, ours and Jordan. Every time we agreed to such a solution, the result was another war. It thus turns out that this solution is only good theoretically, not realistically. And this is before we even consider it from a moral standpoint.

Yes, my dear friend, examine the historical facts and you'll see that with the help of some fanatical brainwashing, victim has been turned into aggressor, justice into injustice, truth into falsehood, and reality into a kind of irrational, hallucinatory insanity.And in conclusion, I shall allow myself to quote several lines from an old song of oursfrom after the War of Independence, called "Our Tiny Land":

Our tiny LandIt’s my Land, mine!I love it so!

Our tiny LandLittle mother of mineYou love your son so much.

Our tiny LandAfter 2,000 years of exileI’ve returned to you.You’re my one and only.I am wed to you forever!Live forever, my Land!

Mission Statement

To Enrich the spiritual life of the English-speaking World through the Torah of Ha-Rav Shlomo Aviner, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem. By offering English translations of Rav Aviner’s written and oral Torah, this division of the yeshiva aims to expose English speakers to a powerful, sensitive and poetic voice unparalleled in our time. His unfailing optimism, his tolerance and love all Jews, his guidance for harmony within the Jewish family and his dedication to Eretz Yisrael, the State of Israel and Tzahal will inspire and enrich the lives of all who may now have access to his words.